Manchester United told to pay £44m to sign Ivan Perisic

Red Devils had an opening offer of £36m for Perisic turned down by Inter.

Inter Milan have told Manchester United they must pay £44m ($56m) to sign winger Ivan Perisic, according to reports.

Sky Sports says the Red Devils have had an opening offer of £36m turned down by the Serie A club for Perisic, while a second improved bid was also rejected.

However, new Inter manager Luciano Spalletti said he would not try to talk the 28-year-old out of a move to Old Trafford, saying players who did not wish to play for Inter were free to leave.

"We shouldn't convince anyone to stay at Inter," he was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.

"I am already convincing others to join Inter and that is the most we can aspire to do. If someone is not convinced, he is good to go and play where he feels more motivated."

Perisic joined Inter from Wolfsburg in 2013. He has three years left on his contract at the Serie A club.

The Croatia international scored 11 goals in 36 league appearances for the San Siro outfit last season.

Former Inter and Croatia defender Dario Simic said in February that Perisic was well-suited to play for United.

"I expected Perisic in the last transfer window to go to one of the big European clubs," he was reported as saying.

"He definitely has enough class for the greatest clubs – I see him at Manchester United."

The Red Devils confirmed the signing of Benfica defender Victor Lindelof on 10 June, with the Sweden defender becoming manager Jose Mourinho's first signing of the summer transfer window.

United are also in the market for a striker after Zlatan Ibrahimovic suffered a serious knee injury towards the tail end of last season and was released as a free agent after his one-year contract with the club expired.

The Red Devils are reported to be increasingly confident of signing Spain international Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid.